In the Morning
by da-angel729
Summary: Tonks is called to stay late for an emergency at work on Remus' birthday and misses the party. When she finally arrives, something happens that will change their relationship. Set during OotP. Written before DH and canon-compliant through HBP.


**Author's Note: **The city of Juniper Hill is my own creation, but everything else is JKR's. Originally written for the "Lover's Moon Fic Event" at **metamorficmoon** at LiveJournal with the following prompts: _banshee_, _Dumbledore_, _Drink_, _Drama_.

--

**In the Morning**

"Damn," Tonks muttered as a lavender paper airplane floated into her cubicle ten minutes before five. She didn't have time for this. She had to go home, shower, and make it to Grimmauld Place in time for Remus' birthday dinner at six. "What the hell do they want now?"

Tonks opened the memo and scanned it. Apparently, a banshee had escaped from the London Magical Creature Research Centre and was currently roaming around Kent, and she was to help capture it and bring it back to the Centre.

"Ready, Tonks?" Kingsley's head appeared over the top of her cubicle. "Scrimgeour assigned both of us to the case."

"Shouldn't the Department for Regulation of Magical Creatures handle this?" Tonks asked as she stood up and grabbed her coat, checking to make sure she had her wand.

"They should, but they're having their annual week-long retreat," Kingsley said. "They left only a few people in the office, and none of them are field agents. Do you have your headphones?"

"Yes, right here," Tonks said, holding up her Noise Reducing Headphones. They had a Decibel Filter Spell on them, which meant she would only hear up to the level of human voices, and were always used when dealing with dangerous Magical Creatures.

Tonks and Kingsley hurried to the Apparation Point on their level. Tonks felt jealousy ripple through her as she saw the other Aurors packing up their things to go home. She was supposed to be on her way home right now, but instead she was assigned to an assignment that extremely dangerous, if not impossible.

"Do we know where she is?" Tonks asked, hoping Kingsley had more information about the exact location of the banshee.

"Yes, the Ministry has a couple of people who are observing her. She's at Juniper Hill. So far, she's just been wandering around, and she hasn't been wailing. They just want us to capture her because we're used to it."

"People, not creatures," Tonks pointed out as they entered the Apparation Point. "And banshees most definitely qualify as creatures."

"Doesn't matter, Tonks. We're going. Did you have a hot date tonight or something?" Kingsley laughed, pulled out his wand, and Apparated.

Tonks gritted her teeth and followed him. She appeared on a country road about a mile away from Juniper Hill, and quickly followed Kingsley to where two wizards, wearing Noise Reducing Headphones, had their wands out and aimed at the banshee, who was sitting in the grass, looking up at the sky, completely silent.

"That's not normal behavior for a banshee," Tonks said, catching up to Kingsley about twenty feet away from the wizards. "Have they put a spell on her?"

"Banshees are notoriously resistant to magic, though some spells, including _Silencio_, work on them. If they've used the Silence Charm, she's probably lost her desire to wail, since it's not affecting anyone. It appears this might be easy, after all."

--

Of course, it wasn't easy. Nothing ever was, Tonks thought as they moved toward the banshee, whom one of the wizards had called Ethel. While she didn't have her scream, she was still very strong, and she was enjoying her newfound freedom. She had no desire to go back to the Research Centre, and kept dodging the Stupefy and other spells Tonks and Kingsley were sending, though she hadn't yet moved from the field they'd first found her in. Kingsley and Tonks were under orders not to hurt her if they could help it, so they couldn't use any of the more dangerous spells.

"Kingsley, this is getting us nowhere!" Tonks said angrily. "Our spells aren't strong enough separately. Shall we get the other two to help us cast a Stupefy at her?"

"I don't know if that will work, Tonks," Kingsley said. He rubbed his hands over his face. They had been trying for almost an hour, and none of their spells had worked.

"It can't hurt to try," Tonks argued. "Those wizards are just sitting over there, doing nothing. We might as well _ask_ if they could help us."

"I'll go talk to them," Kingsley said, striding away.

Tonks breathed a sigh of relief. She was exhausted, but mostly frustrated she was missing the party. She was almost sure this would work, and it was almost six now. If they could get Ethel back to the Centre by six-thirty, then she would not miss too much of the birthday party. She had been looking forward to the party since Molly had announced they were having one. There hadn't been too much to celebrate lately, and Molly promised to cook dinner, which was better than any meal Tonks could have fixed for herself. And then there was Remus himself.

Tonks had developed a full-fledged attraction for Remus, and she was _almost_ sure he had some for her. Whenever she'd sneak a glance at him during Order meetings, meals, or just hanging out at Grimmauld Place, he would look away quickly, as if he'd been looking at her and didn't want her to notice. They'd been dancing around each other for months. Tonks didn't understand why he just hadn't said something, and figured something had to be holding him back. And she was pretty sure it was either the age gap or the fact that he was a werewolf, though she wouldn't place bets on it. She was looking forward to getting to Grimmauld Place.

"Ok, Tonks, we're going to try it." Kingsley came back over with the two wizards. "On the count of three, we'll yell Stupefy. Get ready, everyone."

Tonks, Kingsley, and the two wizards lined up, wands pointed at Ethel. She was looking away, and Tonks knew that was a blessing.

"One, two, three," Kingsley said, and they shouted _Stupefy_! To Tonks' surprise, Ethel toppled over and lay on her back.

"It worked!" The younger of the two wizards was amazed. "How are we going to transport her?"

Tonks, who'd already Conjured a stretcher with arm restraints, rolled her eyes. Obviously, the newer Ministry workers weren't taught Basic Capture Techniques. "_Mobilicorpus_, Tonks said, and she moved the body onto the stretcher and fastened the restraints.

"Kingsley, how are we getting to the Centre?" Tonks asked.

"We've got a Portkey," Kingsley said absently. "The Centre gave these two fine young men one, and we'll all go back together. I'll report to Scrimgeour and we'll fill out the paperwork tomorrow. So as soon as we get Ethel back to the Centre, you can go."

"Thanks, Kingsley," Tonks said. She was almost free. She couldn't wait to leave.

--

Tonks arrived at Grimmauld Place a little after seven to find Molly in the kitchen, talking to Professor Dumbledore, who sat at the table with a drink in front of him.

"Hi Molly," Tonks said as she entered. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore."

"Nymphadora, how lovely to see you. Is work keeping you busy?" Dumbledore asked. His eyes twinkled as he added, "someone here missed you tonight."

"Yes, that's why I only just arrived. I had a last minute emergency assignment," Tonks said, moving to the stove and scooping up some stew, ignoring Dumbledore's last comment. "Thanks, Molly."

"You're welcome, Tonks," Molly said. "I hope your assignment wasn't too difficult."

"No, it wasn't too bad," Tonks said as she sat across from Dumbledore. She launched into a description of what had happened, and how they had captured the banshee.

"That sounds like fun," Dumbledore said. "And I suppose it was your idea to combine spells?"

"Yes, and I'm glad it worked," Tonks replied. "I didn't know it would, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try."

Tonks talked to Dumbledore for a while longer, and after she finished her soup and Dumbledore had left, Molly shooed her out of the kitchen. Tonks walked through Grimmauld Place, and thought she heard Sirius, and quite possibly Remus as well, singing rather loudly in the library.

Tonks entered the library and found the two permanent residents quite happy, which was fortunate. Unfortunately, they had a few empty firewhiskey bottles on the floor, and a few full ones left. They were also singing what Tonks _thought_ was "Happy Birthday" though she couldn't say for sure

"Tonks!" Sirius stopped singing and waved his hand in the air. "Glad you could make it! Moony saved you some cake." He pointed in the direction of the coffee table in the middle of the room.

"And firewhiskey, if you want," Remus added, grinning at her. "Did Molly feed you?"

"Yes, thank you," Tonks said, flushing slightly. "I'm off duty tomorrow, so I'll have some of the firewhiskey, too." She sat in the middle of the couch, in between the two of them.

"That's the spirit," Sirius said, and he handed her a bottle. "We have glasses somewhere."

"This is fine," Tonks said, taking a sip from the bottle. "What are you singing next?"

--

Tonks woke up, quite suddenly, as the light streaming through the open window hit her face. She turned over, held her head when pain shafted through it, and looked around. Apparently, she'd never made it back to her flat last night. She was on the couch in the library at Grimmauld Place.

And she wasn't alone. Remus lay on the couch, next to her, though he was more on top of her than next to her. They were, thankfully, both dressed. Tonks remembered the three of them talking for hours. Sirius had gone to bed around three in the morning, but they had continued talking. It had been nice, and Tonks didn't know when she had fallen asleep, or why he hadn't left when she did.

"Remus?"

"Hmph."

"Do you think you could move for a minute?" Tonks asked. "I can't feel my arm."

He was standing next to her, an embarrassed look on his face, before she even realized he'd moved. Tonks shifted her arm around and rolled onto her side. To her surprise, Remus sat down next to her.

"I hope you'll forgive me," Remus said. "I meant to leave as soon as you'd fallen asleep, but you looked so peaceful and pretty that I didn't want to leave, and I must have fallen asleep as well. I'm sorry."

Tonks heart leapt. He thought she was pretty. "Remus, it's fine. You don't need to apologize." At his look of surprise, Tonks continued hastily, "We've been tiptoeing around each other for months. I like you, you like me. We're friends. It's not a big deal."

Remus' face relaxed, turned thoughful, and then he grinned at her. "Well, then, Nymphadora," he said, putting a finger to her lips when she opened her mouth to protest against the use of her name, "do you want to go out to lunch today? Since you're off duty. Just the two of us?"

"You're not asking me because you feel obligated, are you?" Tonks asked. "Because I don't need that. And don't call me Nymphadora."

"No, I'm not asking you because I feel obligated. I'm asking you because you're right," Remus said, and he smiled at her. Not a grin, but a real smile. "I've wanted to go out with you from the first time we met, when you tripped over the end table and tumbled into Sirius' lap. You've gotten through the wall I've built around myself, and I want to know you. Plus, I really want to kiss you, though I don't know if I should."

Tonks stared at him, waiting for the joke. While he sat there, smiling at her, patiently waiting for an answer, Tonks considered it in her mind. She wanted to go out with him, and he wanted to go out with her. What else was there to think about?

"Remus, I would love to have lunch with you today," Tonks said. "Thank you very much."

"Can you be ready around twelve thirty?" Remus asked, as he stood up and moved toward the door.

"Yes, definitely."

"I'll see you then, Nymphadora." He shut the door behind him.

Tonks remained on the couch, smiling to herself. Her mum was right. Things always looked better in the morning.


End file.
